Hate crime and safety advice

Hate crimes are any crimes that are targeted towards a person because of hostility or prejudice toward that person’s:

• Race or ethnicity
• Disability
• Religion or belief
• Sexual orientation
• Transgender identity

Examples of a hate crime include:

• Financial abuse – taking someone’s money
• Damage to property, including offensive graffiti or setting fires
• Verbal abuse – name calling and insults
• Intimidation and threats, including false allegations
• Bullying and harassment and making fun
• Moving in and taking over someone’s home
• Abusive mail, texts, emails, letters or social media posts
• Physical attack, hitting, pushing, kicking or spitting

Disability hate crime is defined as:

If you feel somebody has treated you badly or hurt you in some way because you look different, sound different, have specialised equipment, have a carer or need extra support, you may have experienced disability hate crime. It is important that you report incidents that make you upset to get the support you need and ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Expand the selections below to learn more about how to report a hate crime.

In this short video, we provide an overview of how you can report a hate crime to Disability Equality NW as a third-party reporting centre.

Hate crimes can affect victims and the people around them. Disability hate crime is one of the most under-reported.

Help people to report it!

Victims can get support from the police, victim services and third-party reporting centres who have stickers in the window.

Further advice, including what you should do if you witness a hate crime can be found at:

• https://report-it.org.uk
• www.lancashire.police.uk/contact-us/hate-crime-and-third-party-reporting-centres

DENW is a third party reporting centre, which means we have the expertise and skills to assist disabled people to report hate crime to the Police and/or access the support services they may need.

We know that reporting a crime to the Police can sometimes be a difficult thing to do and we can offer you an additional level of support to report the incident. DENW is a disabled peoples organisation, which means we have a good understanding of different impairment types. We provide a safe space where you can express yourself and know you have been listened to.

We can assure you all information will be kept confidential. We will listen to your report without judgement and make sure you are in control of the process. Your safety and well-being are the most important thing and we will work with you to protect you from further harm.

As part of DENW’s commitment to tackling hate crime, we offer disability hate crime workshops to other charities, frontline staff, and the wider community. You can also attend as an individual. It is a great way to learn more about how to identify disability hate crimes, how to report them, and access the support you (or someone you know) may need. We have a training room available at DENW, or we can come to your organisation to deliver the workshop.

If you want to find out more about the workshops or would like to book a session, please contact us.